Cavalcade of Awesome

MORE YEAR END ROUND UP ARTICLES!!

Today, I’m not only judging movies that I watched that opened last year, but ALL movies I watched for the first time in 2016.

I’ll start off with a list of my favorite movies that were released in 2016 and I’ll finish up with movies that were released in other years but I only saw for the first time last year.  I may even throw in some honorable mentions as I love to do.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite movies I saw in 2016.  In no particular order.

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War – This is probably not a surprise.  It was awesome and everything I wanted it to be.  Chris Evans’ Captain America has become my favorite Marvel hero, even over Downey’s Iron Man.  I love all three Cap movies but only love one and a half Iron Man movies.  These just keep getting better.  And the inclusion of all these newer heroes; Ant-Man, Falcon, Winter Soldier, the new Spider-Man.  All, just perfect.  I now want a Falcon-Winter Soldier buddy movie.  Make THAT happen, Marvel.

Deadpool – Exactly what this movie should have been.  I honestly didn’t think Fox could pull it off.  I knew they nailed the lead with Ryan Reynolds, but I honestly didn’t think they’d stick to their guns for the bloody, irreverent tone this movie needed.  I was wrong.  Fun, vulgar and entertaining.

Somm: Into the Bottle – This is a sequel to a documentary that I talked about back in 2014.  Last time they were following several Master Sommelier hopefuls as they prepared to take the Master test.  This time, it’s more of an in-depth look at old world wineries and how they craft wine differently.  It’s fascinating stuff.  You do see the original four guys from the first documentary, but not in an update to how they are doing four years later.  The guys are now a part of the panel of talking wine heads.

Marvel’s Doctor Strange – In a way, this somewhat took me by surprise.  I’m a fan of Doctor Strange.  I read him a little in the late 80s-early 90s and I’ve revisited his Steve Ditko origins.  I love sorcerers, so I always kept my eye on him.  But I was cautiously optimistic that Marvel could pull this off without watering the character down.  And they did it.  Straight up magic and everything.  And lots of humor.  I didn’t expect the humor.  This was a pretty great movie and I look forward to him showing up more often in the Marvel Movie Universe.  One caveat, the wonderful Rachel McAdams is mostly wasted. Hopefully they find more to do with her in future movies.

The Magnificent Seven – You can hear my full thoughts of this movie on the appropriate episode of the Hellbent for Letterbox podcast, but in short, I loved this movie. Lots of good characters, lots of good action. Definitely a fun ride for western fans. And even those maybe not traditionally a western fan.

Now here’s an assortment of other movies I watched for the first time in 2015 that I feel at least deserve a mention. Some are new releases and some are older.

Straight Outta Compton (Unrated Director’s Cut) – I talked about this on Nerd Lunch with Tim Lybarger and E from UnderScoopFire.  I’ve watched it a few times since.  I just love this movie.  I know much of it is dramatized and I know some things are kind of out of chronological order but it’s still a great movie with lots of great performances especially by O’shea Jackson, Jr.  That guys is awesome in this playing his own father.  I look forward to what he does next.

The Martian – I love Matt Damon and this is the Matt Damon that I love to see in a movie.  He’s charming.  The movie is thrilling and smart.  It’s funny.  Loved it.  I had my eye on the book for a few years, now I feel like I really want to read it.  I wonder if it’s as charming as the movie or is it more hard science-y?

Furious 7 (Extended Edition) – Honestly, as big a fan of this franchise as I am, I didn’t know how they would pull this one off.  So much going against it with the gloom of Paul Walker’s death shrouding the entire production.  But you know what, they pulled it off.  Especially if you’re as bought into this formula as I am.  Everyone is a ridiculous caricature and the action is almost super hero in it’s grandness, but I had so much fun.  And when the ending came, I actually felt touched.  I could see where you could think it totally doesn’t work, but I actually felt it did it’s job.  And I came away feeling things.  From a Fast & Furious movie.  CRAZY.  Anyway, this makes me doubly excited for the final installment in this franchise where we get Statham vs The Rock and “evil Dom”!

La La Land – One word: MAGIC.  Two words: Hollywood MAGIC.  This movie was adorable and charming and the choreography and music was just dazzling.  The opening sequence on the 405 is just amazing.  Ryan is awesome.  Emma Stone is adorable.  I loved this movie.  It doesn’t end the way you think it does, but I love it.  See it.  Period.

This entry was posted on January 25, 2017 at 7:30 am and is filed under movies with tags Movie Board, movies, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.